'Dodgertown' could be home base

City Council seeks federal legislation to rename 276 acres of team property.

With the Dodgers in the running for the World Series, the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution calling for federal legislation to rename the area around Dodger Stadium "Dodgertown."

The resolution calls for the postmaster general to redraw a ZIP Code boundary encompassing 276 acres of Dodgers property between Academy Road to the north, Lookout Drive to the south, Stadium Way to the west and skirting the parking lot to Academy Road to the east.

"It will provide us with a different way of celebrating a major institution that does so much for the community," said City Councilman Ed Reyes, who represents the area.

"We're in the running to represent the National [League] and -- keep your fingers crossed -- we could be in" the World Series.

More than 125 million fans have visited the ballpark since it opened in 1962, according to the Dodgers' website.

The team, which swept the Chicago Cubs in the division playoffs, faces the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series starting Thursday.

Dodger Stadium is the third-oldest stadium in major league baseball after Boston's Fenway Park and Chicago's Wrigley Field.

The Dodgertown initiative coincides with a $500-million makeover expected to be completed by the stadium's 50th anniversary in 2012. Once complete, Reyes said Dodgertown would indeed look like "a little town," with a promenade, restaurants, shopping and a museum.

The new designation would affect only Dodgers property, he said. So the park's neighbors won't suddenly find themselves living in Dodgertown.